


Fiery Rage

by obs3ss1ons



Category: Station 19 (TV)
Genre: Anger, Emotional Hurt, ep 1:10, ep 2:01, rambling thoughts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-06
Updated: 2019-02-06
Packaged: 2019-10-23 06:14:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,150
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17678003
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/obs3ss1ons/pseuds/obs3ss1ons
Summary: Chief Ripley finds a way to deal with his emotions following the skyscraper fire.





	Fiery Rage

**Author's Note:**

> I'm working on another longer story that's giving me a hard time, but this popped into my head and wouldn't go away. A lot of emotions crossed Ripley's face during his interaction with Vic during 2:01, and I felt he needed to handle it somehow.
> 
> Also, this is the first time I've written something without dialogue, so I hope it turned out okay. Enjoy!

The longest night of Lucas's career was finally over. The fire was out. All of his firefighters made it out and would hopefully survive. If Montgomery didn't pull through – well, Lucas wasn't sure he'd ever forgive himself. He knew he made the right choice to pull everyone out. It was protocol. It saved lives.

But that didn't make him feel any better about leaving an entire team inside. Then to have Hughes accuse him of not caring about them. He didn't want any of his firefighters thinking that about him. That it was her that actually said the words hurt more than he would ever admit. He regretted his response as soon as the words left his lips.

Anger built up inside him. At Hughes. At himself. At the whole situation. The fire at the skyscraper was out of his control. He followed protocol that had been in place long before he joined the academy. It was his job to keep as many people safe as possible. And yeah, sometimes that meant someone had to be sacrificed. He didn't like it, but that was part of the job. Everybody he left in that building knew what could happen any time they responded to a fire.

Including Hughes.

Lucas understood her actions more than she could realize. He knew she lashed out in fear and anger. She'd been scared of losing part of her family and angry that there was nothing she could do about it. He was just the one nearby, checking up on her, when her emotions exploded.

And that was his fault. Sure, he would've told any of the firefighters there that night to get checked out. He had no idea how many flights of stairs she had to carry Montgomery, but just the thought of it made him tired. Add adrenaline, the need to hurry, and the heat to that, and Lucas couldn't be more proud of what she accomplished. He'd be proud of anyone who could and would do that.

That part wasn't because he was attracted to her. No, his attraction contributed to his need to talk to her before she even caught her breath. It was why her saying he didn't care hurt him so damn much. More than it would had it come from anyone else. And why he lashed out right back at her. Why he threatened to fire her.

He just hoped she never made him hold up that threat. He'd made it in the moment in front of other firefighters, from multiple stations. So if she ever did take out her frustrations on him, then he would be forced to end her career with SFD. And that thought brought on even more anger.

As the Fire Chief, every SFD firefighter was under his command. That included Hughes – who, he was ashamed to admit, he had discovered was barely past her first year out of the academy. He had no business being attracted to her. It was clear from their two interactions so far that she wanted nothing to do with him. And that bothered him.

Being the youngest Chief the SFD had ever had meant people in the department either envied him or were intimidated by him. He was used to being kept at a distance, to not being able to form any kind of relationship with the people he worked with. So Hughes quite possibly hating him shouldn't be any different. But it was.

He needed an outlet to get rid of some of his frustration. Even as exhausted as he was, sleep was not something he would be getting anytime soon. It was too early for any gyms to be open, so he decided to go for a run. He hated running, but it was a necessary part of his workouts that he could do in the early hours of the day.

It took him a while to get his breathing evened out with his stride. But once he did, Lucas could feel his anger begin to fade. He ran through his neighborhood toward a nearby park with a walking trail. It was one of his usual paths and had beautiful scenery. Not that he could see much of it in the dark.

As he reached the loop around the park that led to the trail, Lucas let his thoughts take over. His mind relived the fire from the moment he got the call until the last flame was doused. He felt some relief to realize he wouldn't have done a single thing differently. Except maybe call in 19 a little sooner. After all, they were the ones to discover the explosives directly above the fire. And to contain the unstoppable explosion. And rescue their entire team. Without any help.

Lucas stopped and let out a roaring shout. Some birds left a nearby tree, letting him know they didn't appreciate being woken up. But at least no people were around to witness him discover a new way to relieve anger. He yelled and cursed and growled. He let everything he felt about the fire escape into the night. The fear. The vulnerability. The worry. The pain.

By the time he stopped, his throat was dry and sore. His voice was hoarse. But he no longer felt a burning rage coursing through his body. In fact, he almost felt calm. He couldn't change anything that had happened that night. And he had a job to do that required him to be alert and focused. So as his body and mind began to realize just how tired he was, Lucas headed home.

To keep himself awake long enough to make it there, he focused on the problems he faced at work. The reports would be waiting for him when he got to his office later – after a much needed nap. The only department issues were from 19. They were now down a captain and a man. He would call the hospital once he got home to find out if Montgomery made it. But with his injuries, even if he did survive it would be weeks before he could return to duty.

Another issue Lucas had with that station was that it had become clear that neither Herrera nor Gibson were ready to take the helm. Too clear for him to ignore. He couldn't let Frankel captain 19 given her unhidden disdain for Herrera. Which left only one other rank to pull from. Lucas stopped running and stared up at the sky.

He was in sane. The situation was in sane. Just that night he had threatened to fire someone out of emotional hurt from the very station he was being forced to captain for the foreseeable future. He would have to face her hatred on a regular basis. Work closely with her. Command her on every scene they were called to. All while hiding his unfortunate attraction to her.

Dammit.


End file.
